We’re inviting you as we look this morning into God’s word to Hebrews chapter 10. We’re continuing this one another series. And this morning, we’re focused on stirring up one another. We got too many pot stirrers in our world. You know, there’s some people that just live to stir up something, trouble, primarily.

And, they love poking sticks in hornet’s nest, you know, and running to see what happens. But this is not what this is addressing. It’s not what it’s encouraging. It’s encouraging us to cheer on, to support. And the word in the old King James version is provoke one another.

Hebrews chapter 10 and beginning to read there at verse 24. And let us consider one another. That’s the first thing we must do. We must consider one another. That is to just stop and think about each other.

The word considers more than just a surface thought. It’s deep consideration. It’s deep contemplation about it. 2, stir up or provoke unto love and to good works one another, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another and so much the more as you see the day approaching. And I should have read verse 23, which really sets the scene for that.

Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering, for he is faithful that is promised. That ties in with that last statement, so much the more as you see the day approaching. This is time, my friend, for us to encourage one another. We’re coming down to the finish line, to the buzzer, so it’s time for us to encourage one another. It’s interesting to me that Paul often used sports analogies in his writings or his letters, his preaching to illustrate various facets of the Christian life.

He talks about running races, about marathons, about boxing competitions, about competitive, awards or prizes that come for the winners. And we get it as he talks about those things because we’re familiar with that. One thing all sports competitions have in common, and that is they need people cheering on the competitors. They need pep rallies. Actually, my mom and dad probably don’t know this, but, I led some pep rallies when I was a junior high schooler in public school.

At Smyrna, Ashley, So good to have a Harkers Island girl here with us this morning. Ashley is Eunice’s dearest friend in the whole world, and her mom and I are about the same age. But, yeah, I got involved in some of that. Loved it. Loved it.

I guess it was my start to what I’m doing this morning. Athletes just do better when there are people there are fans cheering them on. I believe God’s word is calling us as his church to be fans of one another, supporters, cheers for one another. And the writer of he writer of Hebrews, who is likely Paul, wrote in chapter 12, where I just referred a few moments ago following the song we sing. Therefore, we also are compassed about with a great cloud great roll call of the faithful, a face hall of fame, you might call them, those who persevered in difficult, dark trying circumstances and endured.

And then he says, keeping our eyes on Jesus, let us run the race and with endurance that is set before us looking unto Jesus who is the author, the starter, and the finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was before him, and here we are singing about it this morning, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of God, the father, at the throne of God. We have a great host of unseen cheerleaders this morning. I could not help as I was preparing to preach this morning to think about some of heaven’s cheerleaders that are looking down on us here assembled this Sunday morning. The saints of God that have been part of our church family, our own family members and loved ones, saints that have played roles in our lives and other places and other times. There is a great host of them this morning, heaven’s cheerleaders.

You know, it was enlightening for me as a dad and as a pastor of a bunch of kids in the Eastleigh Bible Methodist Church Back in the day when our kids were attending, a Christian school locally, before the church had a school, That school was a member of the South Carolina Association of Christian Schools. And because of that, they were involved in sports competitions among other Christian schools in the state of South Carolina. I saw a very powerful and very beneficial impact on my own kids and their involvement in that, learning to play as a team, to work together as a team, to think as a team, sharing the scoring opportunities, learning to lose graciously, Graciously? If you’re a parent here today or a grandparent and your kids are involved in competition, for God’s sake, be gracious in losing. Poor kids have to deal with crazy parents and grandparents these days because they don’t know how to lose and then learning to win graciously.

And we did win. If you don’t believe it, just talk to Scott Hester and I sometime. We’ll tell you all about it. Our daughters were some of the top scores in the state of South Carolina, in their competitions in those days. One thing I did learn powerfully though over and over and over, our kids played better when we were on the sidelines cheering them and supporting and clapping and yelling.

And sometimes, Scott and I did too much of that. We actually got in trouble a time or two because we were a little too noisy. But we see far too much of the negative side of that these days. I just am appalled, truthfully, folks. I am totally appalled at what you see your parents not knowing how to behave themselves and, berating their children that miss a scoring opportunity or strike out or whatever.

You know, that’s well, I better not say that word. That’s not a nice word to say in church, but that’s belittling. And, that’s belittling and embarrassing truthfully and then fights and all the rest of it. God’s word is calling us, let’s get to the point, to be cheerleaders, good cheerleaders of one another, to spur one another on. We do better.

We do better when we’re being cheered on, when we’re being stirred up by one another. Amen? And that can only be done in togetherness. It can only be done in physical, visible togetherness, not virtual or in spirit. It requires a team mentality.

It requires family mindedness. I love that about our church. There’s a family mindedness here. We see one another as a family. It requires self sacrificing just as it required for us parents to be there to cheer our kids, put other things on hold.

It requires cost and time and energy, physical, emotional energy. But God’s word is clear. It is as clear as it can be on this point. Do not forsake the coming together of yourselves to spur one another on to love and good works, to encourage one another. And so much the more, the closer you get to the buzzer.

That’s John Parker version. And folks, I don’t know how you feel about it this morning, but I think we’re close to the buzzer, the trumpet, as you see the day approaching. Well, the new testament is very clear about what it means to care for each other, and we’ve been dealing with this. Let me let’s just do a little short review here. 1st John 411.

Be beloved, if god so loved us, we should love one another. Amen? It means loving one another. 1st Peter chapter 4 verse 10. As each of us have received the gifts, use those gifts to serve one another.

It means serving one another, not just loving one another, but serving one another. And we’re doing that as a church’s good stewards of God’s grace. Ephesians 519, speaking to one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord. We’ve been doing that here this morning as a congregation. Don’t it feel good when we sing together?

Don’t it just kinda lift your spirits? You may not be a singer. Yeah. You may not you may be like pastor. You don’t wanna sing specials, but you love it when you can just sing along with God’s people and enjoy the lift of that spirit.

That’s exactly what this is talking about here. Romans 15 and 14, you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge. Why? To instruct one another. And we’ve talked about that, admonishing and encouraging one another.

1st Peter 49, verse 9, showing hospitality to one another. Are we doing that? How well are we doing that? You know, there was a day when it was much more common than it is today. But hospitality is a necessary part of this encouraging one another.

And if you can’t have folks at your house for a meal or do something, meet them at McDonald’s after church on Wednesday night or, during the week for a coffee or do whatever you need to do. Get together to encourage one another. And what are the goals of that? Going back to the Hebrew writer and more of the context of our focus this morning, Hebrews chapter 3 puts the emphasis on the negative. But it’s important.

The goal of this aspect of what another ministry is that none of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. The fact is every single one of us are battling Satan’s temptations and allurements to draw us into sin, or this culture, this world that would press us into its mold would harden us to the realities of sin and cause us to become more accommodating of sin. In our culture, in our families, in our own personal lives. And this coming together with God’s people helps us to prevent the hardening of our hearts to sin. There is a positive aspect even in our verses here and that is that we stir one another up to love and good works that we encourage one another, not only to keep us from sin, but to encourage us to do right.

So let’s take a little deeper lot, dive into the word of god here in the context of Hebrews 10 and what it’s challenging us to do as we are challenged to provoke one another, stir one another up to love and good works. A key here is understanding this word that in the King James is translated provoke and some of the other versions stir up, whatever it is. Here is the original word. The word means, and I’m not gonna give you the Greek because I might mispronounce it. You wouldn’t know the difference if I did.

So I’m just gonna tell you, I’ve got it written here if you wanna see it afterwards. Afterwards. But the word is incitement to good. But it comes from a word which also has as its root to sharpen alongside. Well, that’s interesting me to me because pastor’s first message in this series, and that was on February 4th when we started this series, was sharpening one another.

And his text was in Proverbs chapter 27 verse 17. As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend. And he talked about how that is the goal of our one another mentality in the church. You know what? Think about this a second with me this morning.

Iron cannot sharpen iron. It can’t touch. Right? For iron to sharpen iron, there has to be contact. And the word of God is saying that is the way we sharpen one another.

So what is that saying to us? We need to be in contact. Amen? Amen. The one another is not just in this, euphoric identification.

It’s in physical presence. Amen? In the house of God. So that is why the Hebrew writer says, don’t forsake the assembling of yourselves together for you are being called to sharpen one another, and that only happens when you are in contact with one another. I, I said to a dear friend of mine this week, we’re talking about marriage and the challenges of marriage.

And I said to my dear friend, you know, somebody has said, and I believe it’s very true, that god didn’t design marriage just to make us happy. God designed marriage to make us holy. What do you mean by that? Well, to knock the rough edges off of you. Amen?

And, pastor shouldn’t have any. He’s been married 18 years. He doesn’t have any hair left, but there may be some rough edges. Tanya, work on those. Truth is relationships, when we’re in contact with one another, that’s where the rub comes.

That’s where the issues rise. And all of a sudden, what? It’s just me. You know? I’m sorry.

That’s just who I am. Well, I’m sorry. Who you am is not acceptable. You need to change. Right?

Remember when Kathy told me that? Not quite like that. She probably wrote me a note, wrote me a letter or what’s so I dreaded getting those letters. Hate to even remind her about that because she may write me one. No.

Truth is proximity, togetherness causes us to be aware of the issues, not just their issues, but our issues, my issues. Sharpening happens in contact. And the etymology of this word provoke, means to sharpen alongside. And that’s why we’re called so specifically here to get together, to be together. Don’t be like some people as the manner of some is.

And so much the more as you realize how close you are to facing God and his judgment. We’re inspired to love in good works and sharpen spiritually when we come together. A pet peeve and more and more and more a pet peeve of mine, pastor. I’m sorry. I really apologize to all the live stream people out there this morning.

But virtual assembling leaves so much to be desired. Virtual relationships. I’m telling you folks, what’s happening in our culture, COVID had a tremendous impact on this, separating students in classrooms and teachers from students and employees from employers and the disconnection that has happened where everything’s virtual. Until now, you have boyfriends and girlfriends sitting across the table from each other in a restaurant texting each other or sitting in the same room texting each other. It’s virtual.

And now with all the AI stuff, my it’s frightening to think about where that can go. Folks, we need interpersonal relationships that have physical proximity. Amen? Okay, Parker. Move on.

Obedience and submission to God’s word absolutely, positively, requires us to get together as the people of God if we can. Thank God for live streaming for those who can. Amen? And God bless you people that are watching this morning. We love you.

I really do. The why and the how of our call to stir one another is very definitely found in the context here. So let’s go back. Do you have a bible where you can open it up and look at this or an app on your phone? I just wanna call your attention to some things.

And if you’re able to highlight, you may wanna go back and look at these. So we look at starting at verse 21, We our focus is 24, 25, but let’s go back to verse 21. Having an high priest over the house of God. Is he talking about a building there? No.

He’s talking about the people of God. Everything God does, he does in focus to his people. And folks, we have we sang about him this morning. We have the most wonderful high priest. Amen?

Jesus Christ, the righteous, who took our sins, bore the burden, paid the penalty, died the death, rose again, and is seated at the right hand of God the father, making intercession for us this morning. Not just individually, but collectively. We have an high priest over the house of god. Let us draw near with true of with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Verse 23.

Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering, for he is faithful that promised. And let us consider one another to provoke on the love and the good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is and but exhorting one another and so much the more as you see the day approaching. 4, if you sin willfully after that we’ve received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for a judgment, fiery indignation which shall devour the adversaries. He that despise Moses’ law died without mercy under 2 or 3 witnesses. Of how much sorer punishment suppose ye shall he be taught worthy who had trodden underfoot the son of God and counted the blood of the covenant wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing and done despite into the spirit of grace.

For you know him, we know him that has said, vengeance belongs to me. I will recompense, says the lord. And again, the lord will judge his people. It’s a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living god. That’s the context.

I wanted to just read it in its entirety. Let’s work our way back through it. And one of the key ways to understand passages is to go from the conclusion back to the, proposition. So we start at the verse 31. It’s a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living god.

Why should we assemble ourselves? Why should we be stirring one another up? Why should we be encouraging one another? Because it’s a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Folks, it’s a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the judgment of men.

But my dear friends, we are all gonna stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Think about that this morning. The Lord verse 30. The Lord shall judge his people. Our God’s gonna hold us accountable for the opportunities.

Doors of this church are unlocked and the heater, air conditionings turn on and the lights are on and the musicians gather and the pastor prepares a message. We’re gonna give account for those opportunities. We’re gonna be held accountable. The Lord will judge his people. Verse 28 and 29, he refers to Moses and how they were held accountable then.

And if god held his people accountable in the old testament, how much more will he hold us accountable if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth? That verse can that can cause some people some alarm. Therefore, it sounds like once you have received grace, you can no longer get grace. But what he’s simply saying is the grace you received yesterday does not cover the sins of today or tomorrow. Unconfessed, unrepented sin is unforgiven sin.

Amen? We have people preaching in our pulpits of this land that when you come to salvation, your past sins are forgiven, your present sins are forgiven, And your future sins are forgiven. So you can just go right on sinning like you never stopped. That’s not what the Bible teaches, friends. There remains no more sacrifice for sin.

It’s important that you come to the house of God, that you allow the word of God to stir you up and challenge you so that it can convict you in any area of your life you become careless or sin has crept in. For if you sin willfully after you’ve received the knowledge of the truth, you’re not covered. And it’s a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. There is only verse 27, a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation. If we willfully go back to sin, the atoning sacrifice of God and his grace does not cover us.

If you don’t hear anything else the preacher says this morning, remember that one. Verse 25, we’re working our bay way back up. The day of judgment is approaching. As you see the day approaching, the buzzer or the trumpet could sound at any moment. My friends, this is no time to play around.

Amen? When you look at what’s happening in the Middle East and Israel, what’s happening all across the world, all of the signs and prophecies of the end times are being fulfilled before our very eyes. This is no time to mess around, folks. The buzzer could sound. Let us consider one another, therefore, because this is true, provoking one another, stirring up one another, encouraging one another.

Do you appreciate the encouragements, the affirmations of fellow believers? Does it help you to press on, to hold on, to climb a little higher, to dig a little deeper in God’s love? Yes, my friends. We do. Remind yourselves.

Consider your own self and realize it helps me when people encourage me. So it’s my responsibility to be an encourager. Amen? Do for others as you would have them do for you. Right?

Ain’t that the golden rule? Not just don’t do to others what you wouldn’t have them do to you. No. It’s a positive rule. Do unto others what you would like for them to do unto you.

If you want people to encourage you, be an encourager. And then he goes on to tell us that we have a high priest. Hallelujah. We have everything we need. Let us draw near with a true heart and full assurance.

Hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering for he is faithful that has promised us. My dear friends, there is absolutely nothing lacking in the plan of redemption. It’s complete. We have all we need to live victoriously and to make it to heaven. There’s not a reason in the world that one soul in this building would have to miss heaven.

They can’t know their sins are forgiven. They can’t know that all is well with their soul. So, my friends, let’s focus for just a moment on what are the causes of failure to provoke and to stir one another up. Number 1, failure to understand and appreciate the bonding of common faith. And I’ve about worn that one out already.

But when we fail to understand and appreciate how important what we are doing right here this Sunday morning inside this building in our singing, in our praying, in our worshiping together, when we fail to understand the importance and significance of the bonding of our common faith, my friends, that results in a sense of isolation, a lack of accountability, and a disconnectedness that makes it very easy for us to be discouraged spiritually and also to slip back into sin. And the devil loves it. Paul Harvey one time gave a speech, if I were the devil, what he would do. And I gave that speech, I wanna say, back in the 19 seventies. If you read it, the devil must have heard the speech because he’s doing exactly what Paul Harvey said he would do if he were the devil.

And it’s working in our world, much to our chagrin. But friends, if I were the devil, I would do everything in my power to keep you from getting to church Because church will have an uplifting, encouraging, edifying, strengthening, spiritually nurturing effect on your life. And the failure to understand that results in this disconnectedness, rabid individualism. Well, you know, I have my own faith. I’m a very spiritual person.

I’m just not religious. Means I don’t go to church, I think, is what it means. Spiritual, not religious. Yeah, I really love my wife. I just don’t stay with her, you know?

I stay with a girl down the street. Really? Folks, failure to understand this will destroy you spiritually. Everything you read in the context of this passage is plural. Let us.

Let us. Let us. Let us. You understand the pronoun us? That’s more than one person.

Right? Let us. And then it refers to our bodies, our hearts, our faith, not my. Our. And this is so important to Jesus when he taught us how to pray, taught us to pray our father.

Amen? Folks, we are a family. We are a unit and failure to understand that and the need and importance of us being together and of encouraging one another results in disconnectedness. Am I my brother’s keeper? Yes.

Yes. You are. God was pretty strong with Cain about that, wasn’t he? Secondly, failure to stir up one another and understand the importance of it will result in failure to be together, failure to assemble. Remember, the word here comes from this sharpening one another as in contact.

And what happens when that doesn’t happen in your life is there’s a feeling I’m not needed. You know, they don’t really need me at the church. They need the preacher. They need brother David at the organ, Susan at the piano. They need them, but they don’t need me.

I don’t need they need them, but they don’t need me. I don’t do anything. I don’t have a job. I don’t have a role. I’m not important to the church.

That is a lie from hell. You are important to the church. There is not a single soul in this building today that is not vitally important to the church, to God’s people, to God’s kingdom, to God’s family. You are part of the family of God. Amen?

You are part of the fold, the flock. And remember what Jesus said when there was 909, we all pretty happy when we got 99. But one was missing. What does the shepherd do? He leaves the 99 and he goes looking for the one that is missing.

Folks, that’s how important you are. That’s how important you are. Those are lies of Satan. God’s word is very clear about how important you are. Paul writing to the Corinthian church in first Corinthians 12 14 to 27.

I’ll just summarize it here. The body has many different parts not just one. If the foot says I’m not part of the body because I’m not the hand. And the hand you know, everybody sees the hand. That does not make it any less a part of the body.

If the ear says, I’m not part of the body because I’m not an eye, would that make it any less part of the body? He said, how are you gonna hear if you don’t have a ear? Or smell if you don’t have a nose? And then he goes on to talk about the comely and less comely parts of our body. He said, you cover up the less comely.

I guess if that were true for some of us, we’d put a bag over our heads. Right? But those are important parts that are maybe somebody sitting here this morning saying, well, preacher. I’m just a kneecap. Uh-huh.

They don’t need me. You ever broke your kneecap? Your knee ever go out? It doesn’t matter how pretty your face is. Right?

I don’t care what you are in the body of Christ. You are important. You’re valuable. You’re needed. Amen?

We need you. And all of us together are Christ’s body, verse 27 of that passage. And each of you has a part in it. We need each other. We function as a body.

None of us can say, I’m okay. You’re okay. The body doesn’t need me. I can neglect assembling, and it just gets easier and easier and easier and easier. And, unfortunately, the church becomes an enabler to the dysfunctional who have disconnected.

Folks, I don’t wanna be hard. I don’t wanna be insensitive. I don’t want to be uncaring about people who are not able to come because there’s some dear saints of God that are probably watching me right now. I love you. But folks, God knows if it’s a if you’re able.

God knows if you can. And God knows how much you need the body of Christ and more how much we need you, Amen? To stir up one another, encourage one another. And then lastly, on my short list of causes of failure to stir up one another simply failure to take seriously the means of grace. Assembling for the purpose of worship of stirring up one another spiritually is one of the most critical of the means of grace God’s word, prayer, assembling with God’s people, fasting, the Lord’s Supper, means of grace.

Do we take them seriously? Well, we talk about reading your Bible and pray And we need to talk about being here when the doors are open, assembling together. Therefore, strengthen the hands which hang down, that Hebrews 12 passage said, and make straight pass for your feet so that what is lame may not be turned out of the way, but rather let it be healed. Follow peace. Pursue peace with all men and holiness without which no man shall see the lord.

Lest looking diligently, looking carefully, lest anyone fall short of the grace of God. I just told you a moment ago. God has provided every possible incentive and means to help you get to heaven, but you can fall short. You can fail of the means of grace and fall short and misheaven, if you choose. And then he goes on to talk about lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many become defiled.

You know what happens when we don’t realize the importance of this encouragement and stirring up of one another? We tend to bit to get critical. As long as we’re helping one another, encouraging one another, it helps us love one another. It helps us to be encouragers, not critics. Amen?

Yes. And we start not helping one another. It’s very easy for us to become critical and cynical and bitter. Walk in the council of the ungodly. Sit in the seat of the scornful.

Become cynical and bitter. Folks, what pastor and I are trying to preach to you in this series of messages is that God has every means of grace to get you through to help you. But it’s for all of us collectively to get us to heaven together. Amen? As the people of god, as the family of god.

And there’s not a one of us that didn’t have a role in that. I’ve, stayed with mom and daddy living with them these days. We’ve had some conversations and, some reminiscing and questions about their history. And mom was just telling us the other day about how good the saints the old saints of God had been to them as a brand new convert newly converted couple who knew nothing about the ways of God. Just learning how to live the Christian life and the old saints would love on them and invite them to their home for simple little refreshments and meals and just love on them.

And what a blessing and encouragement that was to them as a brand new Christian couple. And I thought, thank God for those old people I’ve never seen. I might have as an infant, but don’t remember at all in my life. I wanna hug them when I get to heaven for loving on my mom and dad and helping them define what it meant to live the Christian life. And then in my own life as a boy growing up, I just began to reminisce about some people that made a difference in my life.

When I was a kid, I mentioned earlier that I was in public school and my heart was everything but to be a Christian in those days. And yet, the old saints of God. I’ll never forget going to church, those old big strapping fishermen who pulled those nets and had powerful arms and shoulders. 1 of them would get up and he’d testify, and I can hear him testify right now. He would say, if there was no heaven and no hell and a hole in the ground was the end of it all.

You’ll get the picture. No heaven, no hell, and a hole in the ground. That’s the grave. That’s all there was to life. He said, I’d rather be a Christian than to have a 1000000 worlds.

And there was something about that statement that said something to a kid with rebellion in my heart. I better listen to what he’s saying. You know what he was doing? He was stirring me up. And I’m standing here preaching this Sunday morning because an old fisherman would just tell how good it was to know God and love God.

He wasn’t browbeaten me and putting me down and telling me what to do. He was just telling how good it is to know God, to serve to live the Christian life. He to serve to live the Christian life. He’s stirring me up. There have been others across the years in my past that have lived those exemplary lives.

I saw Bob and Marcena Pelton here the other night when the choir was here. I’ll never forget the days when Marcena was going through the deep, dark days of cancer. And it looked like she would not live another day, and yet she would pull herself up out of her weekly and stand to her feet and give wonderful testimonies of the grace of God. You know what she was doing? She was stirring us up.

Amen? I look back there at Sarah Huff. And Sarah, how many times have I heard you talk about God’s handfuls on purpose that he left for you along the pathway of life. You know what Sarah’s done? She’s been one to stir us up.

Amen? And I want God to multiply the tribe of the Sarah Huffs, of the Marcina Pelton, of the Ed Roses. I want to be one that stirs up people to know God. You can be. You should be.

You can make others want to know Jesus. Amen? You’ll fling a craving on them. Somebody said this morning, a pastor friend of mine from Psalm 92 quoted these verses 12 to 15, the righteous flourish like a palm tree and go like grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the Lord.

Amen? And they flourish in the courts of our God. You wanna flourish? Get in the house of God, in the courts of God. They still bear fruit in old age.

They’re ever full of sap and green to declare that the Lord is upright. He’s my rock and there’s no unrighteousness. Right. He’s my rock, and there’s no unrighteousness in him. I want us to stand together this morning.

I’m inviting pastor to come to close this service. Could you just bow your heads with me as he’s coming? If you’re struggling this morning, if you’re discouraged, you’re in the right place. God’s here to meet your need. Let him speak to your heart this morning as pastor closes.

We need the encouragement of one another. We need the stirring of one another. Part of the theme that I’ve mentioned over and over through this series is I need you and you need me. When we’re apart, we don’t have that working together to refine us, to encourage us, and stir us up. Oh, may the lord help us to realize the importance that we have in community together.

Let’s bow our heads. Father, there’s an enemy of our soul that’s doing everything that he can to try to keep us from making it to heaven. If it takes for him to his brother Parker shared to keep us out of the house of God where we can be stirred up to love and to good works, he’ll do it. If he can allow the root of bitterness to begin to spring up in our hearts, he’ll do it. If he can make it to where we isolate ourselves so that we’re not in contact one with another to where the edges of our lives can be refined, he’ll do it.

And so, Lord, I pray that you would help us today to see the importance that your word places, the premium that your word places on our togetherness, our being in fellowship together. Lord, I pray that you would help each one of us to know the ways in which we can stir our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, stir them up to love and to good works. In those times that we may be discouraged and we need the testimony of another who would lift us up and encourage our hearts when we need the reminder of that you have called us out of darkness into light so that we could then show forth the praises of God. And we need to be reminded of our calling to good works. Lord, I pray that you would stir us up afresh and anew in our hearts.

Thank you for your truth that you have shared with us today. And, Holy Spirit, apply it to our hearts in the ways that it needs to be applied to each individual person today. And we’ll praise you for it. And we ask these things in Jesus name. Amen.

Amen. You are dismissed.

I’m inviting you this morning to turn in your bible to the book of Romans chapter 14. While you’re turning there, just wanna say welcome to each one of you and especially to our guests, and, our first time visitors. We have a couple back here, JR and Brenda Weatherald, new to the area.

And, so good to have them. Said they’re looking for a church and, just stopped by. And, so good to have you folks with us. They have been off doing ministry and work. And, it’s good to have you all back home.

And, so we welcome you back. Then it’s good to see Daniel Hester moved back into the area, and it’s so good to have you with us this morning. We welcome you, Daniel. And then it’s so good to have Sarah with us this morning, So I’m not even sure how we came up with that, but, she’s Sarah, but make sure and tell Jenny you’re glad that she’s here. And, Romans chapter 14, we’re actually breaking in on a larger section of scripture that Paul is writing in.

The context to this, and I think it’s important for us to understand this, the context of Romans chapter 14 is really in the light of Romans chapter 12. So we need to keep that in its context that Romans chapter 14 is really an extension of Romans chapter 12, which is a section of scripture that deals with, entire sanctification. The purifying of our lives. This morning, what we’re looking at is we talk about these passages of scripture that deal with our I coined this phrase last week, our one anothering, really is the heart of living out holiness. God never intended for our holiness to be lived in a test tube.

In fact, holiness can’t be lived out in a test tube. It requires our relationships one with another. John r w Stott made this observation. He said, holiness, is not a mystical condition experienced in relation to God, but in isolation from human beings. You cannot be good in a vacuum, but only in the real world of.

If you want to be on the backside of the wilderness in a cave. That’s not where holiness is lived out. It’s lived out in every day life as you live among people. As you live among people, which explains why over and over again in scripture, particularly in the New Testament, it describes the holy life being lived out with 2 words. One, another.

Keep that as a context for what we’re talking about this morning. In Romans chapter 14, I mentioned that we’re breaking into a section of scripture. Maybe it would be helpful for us before I read that. I was gonna do it afterwards, but I think it might be helpful for us if I do it now. Romans chapter 14 fits in the context I mentioned of Romans chapter 12, where Paul urges brethren to, become living sacrifices.

Holy and acceptable unto God, which is his reasonable act of worship. Being transformed by the renewing of our mind. And then the rest of Romans chapter 12, chapter 13, chapter 14, chapter 15 are our transforming mind or transform mind, what it affects first and foremost? If you go back to chapter 12 and verse 3, it affects how we view ourselves. We’re not to think more highly of ourselves.

And then it begins to branch out from there and deal with how we live one another, or among one another. That’s the context to which we come to Romans chapter 14. I’m gonna invite you to stand with me as we read this passage of scripture and look at it together. In other words, it’s a vegetarian. Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth For God hath received him.

Who art thou that judgeth another man’s servant? To his own master he standeth or falleth. Ye shall be holding up, for God is able to make him stand. One man esteemeth one day above another. Another esteemeth every day alike.

Let every man be fully persuaded in his own. He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord. And he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord, he doth not regard it. He that eateth eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks. And he that eateth not to the Lord, he eateth and giveth God thanks.

For none of us liveth to himself and no man dieth to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the lord and whether we die, we die unto the lord. Whether we live therefore or die, we are the lords. For to this end Christ both died and rose and revived that he might be Lord both of the dead and the living. But why does thou judge thy brother?

Or why does thou set it not thy brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Shall confess to God. So then, every one of us shall give account to himself to God of himself to God. Let us not therefore judge one another anymore, but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way.

I know and I’m persuaded by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself. But to him, that esteemeth anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. But if thy brother be grieved with thy me, now walkest thou not charitably, destroy not him with thy meat for whom Christ died. Let not then your good be evil spoken of. For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy and the holy ghost.

For he that is for he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God and approved of men. This is the verse that I want for us to focus on this morning the context of the entire chapter. Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and work of God. All things indeed are pure, but it is evil for that man who eateth with offense. It is good neither to eat flesh nor to drink wine, nor anything whereby thy brother stumbleth or is offended or is made weak.

Hast thou faith? Have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth. And he that doeth, and he that doubteth is damned if he eat because he hath eateth not of faith for whatsoever is not of faith is sin. I want to talk to us this morning about building one another up, edifying one another.

Let’s pray together. Father, thank you for your spirit that is with us today. Your help that we have sensed in the service already as we have brought an offering of praise to you. We’re coming now before your word, words that are true, words that when taken and applied in our lives, and when we allow them to mingle in our spirit, can keep us from words that can help us to know the way in which we should go. Ways that we have And so I pray this morning, Holy Spirit, that your word would have power among us, shaping us and guiding us for your glory.

I pray it in Christ’s name. Amen. You may be seated. Someone once said that the measure of your new self, the new mind, as we talked about earlier in Romans chapter 12, is the degree to which you look away from yourself and then to Christ as your treasure. If Christ is more to you, then you are more.

If Christ is less to you, then you are less. Your valuing consists in your valuing of Christ. Building to this idea of building up the body of Christ comes within this context that you and I are called to live out holiness been to talk about where the rubber meets the road. How many of you would agree this morning that it would be really easy I’ll be I’m trying to debate how I should phrase this. I had somebody in my ministerial program when I was in college that said, pastoring would be great if it weren’t for the people.

The truth is, is that holiness, we would think, is easier lived out if it weren’t for out. If you were to just, kind of, dissect chapter 14 of Romans, you would notice that there are several themes that kinda flow through, this passage. Paul writes about weak and strong Christians. He writes about those who are free and those who are under bondage. He writes about judging one another.

He writes about peace and unity within the body of Christ. It all kind of converges. In verse 19, Paul says to us these words. I just want to read them to us again. Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace.

Hold that in your thought. Paul’s concerned that there is peace and unity within the body of Christ. And then he goes on to say in verse 19, he says, and things wherewith one may build up one another. One. Tool belt, a hammer, and some nails, and some wood, and let me build something.

What I love about building is you can go in, you can see what it is. And it leaves for me. I can look at something and begin to see what it will look like. Downloaded an app onto my phone, that I worked with designing what the house would look like. And I can look at something and begin to see what it will look like.

So when Tanya and I started the process of building our house, I had downloaded an app onto my phone And then you could hit this little button and it became 3 d. And you could hover all over this, and you could go through the rooms, and you could see what they’d look like. Add fixtures in the room. You could even adjust what the height of the windows would look like. It was beautiful.

And I could and even with draw and even the light coming through the windows, all of the features, I could see it. To understand it. Comes all of this, massive amounts of lumber just scattered all around before lumber just scattered all around. Before long, you’ve got a sub floor and then you’ve got walls and you’ve got sheeting and you’ve got a roof over knit together being built up. One another up.

But he begins to pinpoint some things that are going to be necessary for that building. There are some challenges that you and I are gonna face to being built up. The first challenge I want you to notice is that we’re different. There are differences. Paul identifies that in 2 different ways.

He uses 2 illustrations. And then there are gonna be some people that don’t have freedom to eat meat. Paul is writing to a group of people that some have come and some of that meat they know is then taken into the marketplace and sold. And as a result of that, they can’t go into the marketplace and buy meat they don’t come from that.

And so they go into the marketplace. They realize hey, all of this belongs to God. It’s his. There’s no other God but God. And so they buy the meat, they eat it, they don’t have a problem.

But Paul cautions them that there are among them differing opinions and views and what to do. Do you eat meat or don’t you eat meat? In fact, Paul further digresses more in first Corinthians and deals with this subject even more. He summarizes, some of, that with within first Corinthians of the importance of what it looks like. This meat that’s been offered to idols, and those that are able to eat and some that are not able to eat.

Example of, he shifts from meat to using the example of days of the day over another. Some regard every day the same. Again, what’s he looking at? He’s looking at Jewish worshipers that have come up in the Jewish religion. And they’re looking back to their Jewish heritage.

They’ve got holy days, don’t they? High days, days that are separate. They’re set apart. And to those Jews, those are important days. You have to observe those days.

You’ve got pagans that are coming in. Every day is the same. What does it matter? Paul begins to point out that within the body of Christ, there are those who are stronger brothers and weaker brothers, have differing views, but they’re brought together. Let me just make an observation at this point.

We can look at the areas of their differences and say, how petty? You’re frustrated about the day of the week? What you do with a particular day of the week? How many of you have argued with another believer over differing views? No, no, we do have differing views.

Some of us, you may be a vegetarian, you may be a vegan, you may, be a carnivore. All right? Cow, was nourished by the grass. That’s the only salad you’ll ever. Views and there’s fracturing within the body over food, but then I have to stop and I have to say, how many times do we, today, in 21st century, over non essential issues begin to divide and fracture and tear one another down.

You see, Paul’s gonna get here in chapter 14 and verse 20, where he cautions them, he says, don’t tear one another down. That’s exactly what’s happening in the body. There’s these differing views that one eats meat, one doesn’t, one regards a day above another day, another, regards every day the same. And all of a sudden, as a result of their differences, there’s problems. They’re at odds with 1 another.

And here’s where the odds come. It’s the second challenge that Paul deals with. Did you catch that in our reading? It’s really easy whenever you hold a certain position to become a judge of others in that area. Let me just give you a little illustration of that before we move on from I am old enough to remember life before the Internet.

Am old enough to remember life before the Internet. That makes me old now. But I remember when the internet first came out and my parents had gotten the internet, and I had gotten into some material that I shouldn’t have gotten in to. And I remember meeting my parents in the driveway when they got home, and I said, you guys need to know some things. And some point, shortly after that, they cut the Internet off.

All we had was Juno email. Brother Armstrong, do you have your Juno account? Yeah. He still has Juno. Only person in the world that still has a Juno account is in our church.

Oh, wait. There’s more. Oh, I’m sorry, brother Parker. Boy, I just ruined the message. My parents got rid of the Internet.

My parents got rid of the internet. And there was a period of time where the Holy Spirit started working on me as just a young man. And let me just pause here long enough to say that to those of you that are young people, God talks to you even as young people. My prayer is that you will have ears to hear the spirit of the Lord when he speaks to you, even as a young person. The Holy Spirit began to talk to me about the fact you don’t have any business on the internet.

You know, that was true for a number of years until the Lord gave me victory over that. But you know what one of my challenges was that I dealt with? I went to college. And when I got to college, and again, internet wasn’t but really about 5, 6, 7 years old open to the public. One of the things that was a part of freshman orientation was computer, use in the library.

And I remember sitting there wrapping my righteous robes around me saying, shame on all of those people getting on that godforsaken wicked thing. It wasn’t quite that strong. But there was a part of me that felt self righteous and smug. I don’t get on there. You know why I didn’t get on there?

Because I was a weak brother that didn’t have the strength to get on there, But it was really easy for me to become a judge of others. The same way people on the other side can become a judge and say, what are you talking about? Now, the internet isn’t inherently wrong in and of itself. Amen? The truth to that is amen.

It’s not inherently wrong. Are there wicked things in it? Absolutely. There are. And so one of the things that you and I need to understand, we may have freedom to get on what we have to understand.

Somebody who doesn’t have freedom to get on, we don’t judge that. Judge not one. And so Paul reminds us If you have your bible still open, I want you to look at this. He’s just talked about the brother who eats and the brother who can’t eat. And then in verse 3, Paul says, the one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat.

And the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him. For God has accepted him. And then I want to stop and say, accepted him who? Him. Thank you, Sister Ravenscraft.

She just mouthed both. That means, Church, you and I need to understand in the body of Christ, there are some brothers in Christ who are strong in the faith. And God has given them freedom and liberty to do things that some within the body of Christ who are weak cannot do. But God has accepted both. Now, here becomes the rub.

Paul says, don’t judge one another. Stronger brother, don’t look at your weaker brother and say, I don’t know why you struggle over that. You need to just get over it. And the weaker brother is not to go to the stronger brother and say, shame on you. You shouldn’t do that.

I don’t do that. You shouldn’t do that. Shame on you. You shouldn’t do that. I don’t do that.

You shouldn’t do that. Amen? You and I must keep in mind that there is a difference between biblical truth, personal convictions, and personal preferences. In the body of Christ, there are some things that are not allowed because biblical mandate says, thou shalt not. That’s true for everybody.

But within that framework, there are some things that the Holy Spirit will come to us individually because God is a personal god and he’s gonna say to you, you’re weak in this area, brother. You’re weak in this area, sister. Don’t do this. The Bible may give freedom to it, but the Holy Spirit may say, but not for you. Are we okay with that?

Some things that we just have personal preferences. Like whenever you’re driving on the interstate and you’re driving slower, move over to the slow lane. Had to get on my soap box for just a minute. What are we talking about? God accepts the stronger and the weaker, and we dare not become judges one of another.

Why? Why don’t we become judges? Because of what Paul tells us is the result of that. When you become a judge, you tear down one another. Grant Osborne said that the weak and the strong must stop focusing on winning the debate and center on building each other up in Christ to achieve peace and a united worship and joy in Christ.

Amen and a united worship and joy in Christ. Amen? It’s so important within the body of Christ that the stronger and the weaker come together, stop judging one another, which tears each other down, and find ways that you and I can build one another up. And the teaching and admonishing one and The danger is, is that we don’t deal with the log in our own, and so we’re beating everybody up in our process of trying to take the speck out of the other brothers. When you become judges and take my seat, listen to me very carefully this morning.

When you and I begin to judge one another, we are actually trying to dethrone Christ and take his position, or dethrone God and become that position. That’s exactly what Paul says. Paul says, why are you doing this? All of us are going to stand before God. All of us are going to give an account of God.

That’s not your responsibility. Let me just tell you this morning, I am glad I’m not your I’m thankful that there’s a God in heaven that knows all things and he knows us personally. He’s the one that will judge us. And so, Paul says, listen, within the body of Christ, they must come together, and you must not destroy each other through your judging. Build 1 and then And Paul says, let us not therefore judge one another any more, but judge this rather.

Here’s what we’re Judge put judgment on this, that no man put a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in his brother’s pathway. Don’t become the stumbling block that causes the weaker brother to fall. Don’t become the stumbling block in the stronger brothers way that would cause him to be, weakened or to stumble and fall. Stare. It’s Paul’s saying if you really love your brah.

And it’s full context of what we’ve been talking about the last couple weeks, loving one. -Loving one. -And it’s full context of what we’ve been talking about the last couple weeks. Loving one. -Love, Loving one another.

You will put judgment aside and do what is necessary to help build one another up. That may mean for the stronger brother who has liberty, for the sake of the weaker brother who doesn’t have liberty, he constrains himself. And that means for the weaker brother who doesn’t have liberty, doesn’t seek to bind the one who is free. And so the call for us this morning, is that you and I are supposed to seek to build one another up. We’re to lift one another up.

Stop our judging and seek to build each other. And seek to build each other up. Means that the strong who has liberty and the weak who does not have liberty, looks for ways not to tear each other down, but looks for ways to build each other up, even if it means that we set things aside. Let me just share with you some, scripture from 1st Corinthians chapter 10. Again, 1st Corinthians chapter, 8, 9, and 10.

Paul’s dealing with the same idea of building one another up lawful, but not all things are all things are lawful, but not all things will build. Nature. Let me just reread that last part. Let no one seek his own good but the good of his neighbor. You know, when we live out holiness, one to another, a part of that will be that you and I will set aside what we may have freedom or liberty to do for the sake of the weaker brother to help him grow in Christ.

Not to hinder our brother in Christ. There are some things that I don’t do in my life, not because scripture says I can’t, Amen. I may have liberty, but it doesn’t give me license to do it. I may have freedom to do it, but it doesn’t mean that I do it, because I could be the reason that a brother or sister in Christ stumbles. Because of my freedom.

I think I’ve shared this before. I remember President Stettler telling the story of preaching a revival out in the Midwest. He was preaching to a group of people that they had differences as it related to neckties. There was half of the group that didn’t wear them. There was half of them that did.

Eye. And he said, I’m, I just want to make a statement right up front, because I want everybody to be clear. He said, I realize that, there are some in this group that does not wear neckties. And there are some of you that do. I have taken my necktie off, he said, because I don’t want to hinder the message and the gospel for those that would be offended.

But I want you to know, if you ever see me somewhere else and I have a necktie on, I’m not trying to live a double standard. I just I wanna remove every hindrance in this group from the gospel going forward. Tell you something, it takes a strong Christian who is willing to set aside their freedoms for the sake of not hurting or hindering another brother or sister in Christ. I’m just gonna let this as a question for you to think about. What is it in your life that you may have freedom to do that might be a stumbling block to another that the Holy Spirit is saying to you today, you need to reconsider how you live out your freedom among them.

Liberty does not equal our license to do what our freedom may allow. If you’re walking in holiness and love, you desire unity and the building up of the body more than you desire your freedom. Amen? Amen. Amen.

Oh, dear. Now there’s a powerful, powerful truth for us to consider this morning. And that is that God has knit us together in all of our differences and all of the things that we may have freedoms and we don’t have freedoms to do. He’s knit us together as one. And he wants for us not to tear each other down.

And so he says to you and I this morning, stop judging one another and seek for that which is peace and the building up of one another. There have been too many people who have been run off or caused to sin because good hearted Christians have tried to write what they think they need to do and have caused them to stumble and fall. There have been a lot of people who are new in the faith, maybe weak in the faith, that good intentioned, I believe, people have run them off as a result of what they may feel they need to do. They’ve tried to put on them and judge them and have run them off. And what the Holy Spirit is saying to you and I this morning is, seek for peace.

The building up of one another. Don’t tear one another down. The mark of spiritual maturity, Henry Blackaby says the mark of spiritual maturity is a willingness to sacrifice personal comfort in order to strengthen other believers. Paul says in verse 19, so then we pursue. This is something that you and I have to, we’ve got to work.

This is not something that just comes by osmosis. It just doesn’t come by happenstance. This is something that you and I have to pursue after to build one another up and not allow we live in a world that, that exacerbates differences. Don’t we? That exacerbates differences.

You know, there used to be a time in our political system that you could easily get a majority vote in the house or back into the 1990s when President Bill Clinton, set up, I think it was Sandra Day O’Connor to be elected on, It wasn’t Who was it? Somebody Brit Bader Ginsburg. Set her up to be elected on to the Supreme Court. 93% of our senators voted for her. Now you come into the modern era and you can’t even I mean, they’re bickering to the point of trying to run guys like Kavanaugh into the ground, destroying their character.

Bitter contention. Can I tell you something? That has come right into the charity. Right in the charity. And it’s right in the charity.

And it’s right in the Is it Divisive or Divisive? I’ve been told I say it wrong. Tomato, tomato, whatever. Right? We’ve become so divisive and fractious.

And Lord, keep us from tearing each other apart. There are too many casualties as a result of our differences and are judging one another that’s torn us down. Paul says, pursue, set aside things that you need to set aside so that you don’t cause a stumbling block to your brother. If you have your Bible still open, you’ll notice this in chapter 15. We didn’t read it, but really chapter 14 feeds right into chapter 15 verses 1 through 13.

But I’m just going to read the first part. We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak and not please ourselves. There was a couple from hope, sound, and, I don’t know, rough background. The guy had been a drug addict, but God had done a work in his life. Both of He and his wife, they were growing.

Somebody got a hold of them in the church. Began to lay some things upon them That didn’t belong on them. They were still growing in their faith, weak in the faith. That couple today is divorced, Their lives wrecked. You know, there’s an example right here in this church.

I should’ve asked. I should have asked. Jim Stanley has told on numerous occasions in our small group, in our, Sunday morning bible study. This church right here, when he and Rita came, loved on them, cared for them. And when sister Rita got saved, she came out of a Catholic background.

And do you know this church loved on them and accepted them? Brother Parker put sister Rita in positions where he could and watch them grow. Today, Jim and Rita are a vital part of the ministries right here in easily. Is the power of lives that are transformed, that build the kingdom of God. And I believe what the Holy Spirit is saying to us today.

And if we’re going to live out holiness, Church, you and I, and I say, Lord, help us today. And you and I have to pursue peace and the building up of 1 and a But Lord, help us to have people like Jim and Rita Stanley. Let’s stand together. Father, this morning, the word that you have given to us is to pursue peace among us are strong. There’s some among us that are weak.

There’s some that, among us, are strong. There’s some among us that are weak. There’s some that have greater convictions and some who don’t have as strong of convictions accepted us all. Father, would you forgive us for the times that we’ve been judgmental? One to a nice Those that have had liberties, those who don’t and call them legalists and those who have who don’t and call them legalists and those who were greater convictions have looked at those who don’t and called them liberal, wounded one another.

Forgive us, Lord. Help us father to be people who pursue to build one another up. We’re a part of your body. Help us not to have an autoimmune disease that causes us to wound ourself. But oh, may you build us up in the most holy for your glory.

I pray in Jesus name, amen.